Equivocal Paradox
by paradoxical
Summary: ( Draco, Hermione ) “Something tells us that this--us--it isn’t right and still we defy these warnings just to be next to each other.”


**Equivocal Paradox**  
  
Author: Reese  
Rating: PG  
Chapter(s): 1  
Summary: Something tells us that this--us--it isn't right and still we defy these warnings just to be next to each other.  
  
Etc: Happy Valentine's Day. This excess amount of stories and drabbles will eventually make me take a brief/excessively long hiatus from the fanfic world. I just hope it doesn't come to that.  
  
There it was again.  
  
She stood in front of the portrait. It was an oil painting that represented night and day. A dash of midnight plume and a streak of silver on one side that blended beautifully with a flick of cornflower blue and wisps of gold. She could see the sun and moon rising--a great, wonderful paradox that intrigued her. The painting rippled for her as it had done many times before.  
  
This was the first time she took the first step and walked inside.  
  
In a matter of moments, she found herself in the middle of a meadow. A dying tree stood proud and tall in the middle where dark and light met. Having nowhere else to go, she approached the tree and sat down, trying to figure out how she had come here in the first place. It seemed that with every passing minute a part of her memory left with it. So with every step she took, her thoughts flitted away with time.  
  
She sighed. This whole world she was in was of no use to her if she could not remember previous moments. How could she explain to her two best friends how wonderful it was in this miraculous illusion she had created just for herself. How could she teach them to make a world of their own? No. This world served her no good.  
  
Right now--right this second--she couldn't even begin to fathom what she was thinking just a few seconds ago.  
  
It really wasn't fair.  
  
So, abandoning herself to this rich, albeit erroneous perception of reality, she looked up to the clear skies and waited. She really wasn't sure what she was waiting for, but something told her that there was a surprise in store for her. What surprise it could be, she really didn't know, nor did she really care because after she got a glimpse of this surprise, it would just be a memory tucked in the forsaken crevices of her mind.  
  
Seconds ticked by. Then minutes and hours. Time had flown by. Day turned into night while the other side from night to day. It was when she could see the sun again on her side that she decided it would be best if she had just left. As soon as she had stood up, she could hear a twig crunch beneath the weight of something, rather someone, as she turned around to face the accused in the eye.  
  
He looked familiar, he really did, although she couldn't really associate the face with a name. She didn't even know her name. Having given up, she tilted her head and continued to study him with curious and searching eyes.  
  
He was tall, perhaps six inches taller than she. He had pale, flaxen hair that glistened under the moon and stars and an ivory skin tone that almost made him appear fragile. He was like China glass her mother told her never to touch. His eyes were slate-grey that flickered blue-grey with every passing second. The black robes that draped across his body was fitting--made him appear elegant and sophisticated, although she suspected he would remain looking as such without it.  
  
Some people were just born with a natural finesse.  
  
he finally said to her, inviting her to sit down with him next to the tree, as he took a seat at a protruding root.  
  
She nodded in respect and sat down next to him. Something told her this wasn't right, but how could she define right' when there was no way of remembering?  
  
Nice night, he paused and looked over on her side, or day, in your case.  
  
  
  
A comfortable silence blanketed over them before either one of them spoke.  
  
It took you a while. He said, I didn't think you would actually come here.  
  
She looked at him and asked, You knew I was coming?  
  
With time, yes. I was willing to wait years until your arrival.  
  
The girl looked up and saw the night fade into morning. Slowly, yes, but ever-so-surely. She could even see the traces of orange and pink that lined the horizon.  
  
she inquiried, finally fixing her gaze upon him.  
  
He shifted his weight on the root and leaned back.  
  
You want the honest truth? I honestly don't know. I've been plagued by instincts the whole time I've been here. Several like you--females, that is--have wandered here but none of them seemed right.  
  
  
  
He shrugged.  
  
I can't explain it. All I know is that none of them could every complete the picture. You understand that you are in it right now?  
  
She shook her head. I don't remember well enough to.  
  
He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. She had not the faintest idea why she wanted to feel them under her fingers so suddenly.  
  
All is well, I suppose. The picture you fail to remember is split into day and night. In essence, this picture is two separate pieces, not one. I prefer things to be simple, if you can imagine that. Two different times in one place is complex, even for me.  
  
She nodded--what for, she didn't know, because she had not comprehended one bit of information given to her.  
  
As if sensing her uncertainty he continued, I'd rather we live in the same world than in two separate ones.  
  
  
  
  
  
The day seeped into the night. Now, all she could see were speckles of starlight but that, too, was beginning to fade as Aurora took her place in the heavens.  
  
This might sound strange, she began, but we ...  
  
  
  
This feels oddly comforting, you and I. She said to him, Something tells me that it's wrong, but I can't help thinking that it's-  
  
he finished for her. Yes, I agree.  
  
It wasn't long before the moon and stars disappeared, replaced with soaring birds and a blinding sun. A warm wisp of wind whistled through the tree's bare branches, curled about the curls of her hair and danced in the silk of his white-wine strands.  
  
Do I come here often? she suddenly asked him.  
  
he replied after some time, you do. You just never stepped forward until, well, technically a few nights ago since days have passed on your side.  
  
Until now that is, right? she pointed to the sky, clear and blue. No traces of darkness that was once there before he arrived.  
  
  
  
Who are we?  
  
He laughed, then, a slow and deep laugh that caused shivers to run down her spine. It was nice, something she had never felt before.  
  
Always with the questions with you, isn't it?  
  
She flushed a bright pink before nodding lightly and turning her head away.  
  
  
  
I don't understand.  
  
We are a paradox. He turned to face her, I reckon you haven't noticed.  
  
Noticed what?  
  
I am night and you are day and yet we live in the same world. We are different people, yet, for some inexplicable reason, we can't seem to live without each other. Something tells us that this--us--it isn't right and still we defy these warnings just to be next to each other.  
  
  
  
Without warning, he captured her hand in his own and held it there.  
  
Together, they watched the sky turn from blue to black in a matter of hours, just sitting there. Not long after, they fell asleep against each other, unaware of darkness and light trying to overpower the other.  
  
**_la fin_**_,_ _unequivocal paradox_   
  
Just something that popped into my head and wanted to get down before I lacked the inspiration to finish it. Took me about 45 minutes to finish it, but it was well worth the time. I like its ambiguity, although the story is pretty much self-explanatory. I wouldn't really consider it confusing if you really analysed it. In this case, overanalysis is good.


End file.
